Whatever is dependently co-arisen, that is explained to be emptiness. That, being a dependent designation, is itself the middle way.

The mind is everything. What you think, you become.

Even if you speak of 'understanding,' this understanding is not a matter of knowledge. It is what fills the entire body and mind.

When you are you, Zen is Zen. Big mind is just big mind.

We don't set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people's hearts.

The Buddha's teaching is a teaching of self-reliance, of being one's own master, one's own refuge.

Devotion is the head of meditation, as is often said. When you are inspired by some spiritual teacher, you can have a very strong connection with that person, and thereby the blessings can enter.

The period of greatest gain in knowledge and experience is the most difficult period in one's life.

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.

When mindfulness is weak, defilements are strong; when mindfulness is strong, defilements are weak.

Zen is a way of life, not a theory or a piece of knowledge to be stored away in our minds.

The measure of success in spiritual life is how peaceful you are.

Those who grasp at things as truly existent are like someone trying to catch the reflection of the moon in water.

When we understand that peace is not dependent on external conditions, we can find it in the midst of any circumstance.

Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.

The entire path is a path of self-responsibility. Nobody else can walk it for you.

Don't think that only sitting with the eyes closed is practice. If you do think this way, then quickly change your thinking.

If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?

Your mind is like a garden. Your thoughts are the seeds. You can grow flowers or you can grow weeds.

The door of your heart can only be opened from the inside.

To see directly is to be free of hope and fear. Hope and fear are like a cloud before the sun.

The ultimate source of happiness is not money and power, but warm-heartedness.

The goal of Buddhist practice is not to escape from the world but to transform our relationship with it.

Vipassana is the art of living. Not the art of escaping.

Kindness is the solution to all of life's problems.

The obstacle is the path.

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything.

The true mark of a spiritual practitioner is that your own behavior is better, not that you can criticize others well.

The rising and falling of the abdomen is not the main object. The main object is to develop mindfulness, concentration, and insight.

The more we understand our mind, the more we understand the world.

The Buddha's teachings are not a religion, but a science of mind.

The best way to control people is to encourage them to be mischievous. Then they will be in control in a wider sense.

The ultimate source of a happy life is warm-heartedness. This means extending to others the kind of concern we have for ourselves.